UN appoints Mexican diplomat as new chief of shrinking Haiti office
Ruiz had worked as special representative for Colombia since 2019, BINUH said, adding that he has monitored the implementation of the country's peace agreement and worked on recent peace talks between the government and armed guerrilla groups.
The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti is referred to as BINUH, the French acronym for the mission's full name.
Ruiz is set to succeed Ecuador's Maria Isabel Salvador as head of the shrinking U.N. office as Haiti faces a worsening conflict fueled by powerful, heavily armed gangs that have driven nearly 1.3 million people from their homes and are expanding to new areas despite efforts from national police.
A voluntary U.N.-backed force has also partially deployed to Haiti to boost local police but has struggled to make headway, hampered by shortages of troops, funds and equipment.
BINUH's work includes advising the government as well as tracking and monitoring human-rights abuses and security trends, including the evolution of gangs' territorial control, killings, kidnappings and civilian displacements.
In a July 1 letter to the U.N. Security Council seen by Reuters, Guterres said he planned to re-evaluate the office's 2026 budget in view of a smaller headcount following repeated evacuations due to the "dire security situation" in Haiti.
"Established in 2019, BINUH was not designed, nor does it have adequate evacuation and security assets, to operate in such a hostile environment," Guterres said in the letter.
"Consequently, the Secretariat and BINUH have undertaken a review of the mission concept to achieve a more focused, smaller, yet impactful, mission."
The U.N. since last November has had a maximum authorized capacity of 133 international staff in Port-au-Prince, the letter added, including 17 from BINUH - a limit based on its current extraction capacity of a single helicopter.
Many U.N. staff operate from abroad.
On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told a meeting of the Security Council that the cost of additional resources needed to boost BINUH's security and evacuation capabilities in 2026 would be offset by a smaller local footprint.
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Reuters
34 minutes ago
- Reuters
Hamas warns Palestinians against cooperating with U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
CAIRO, July 3 (Reuters) - The Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza on Thursday warned residents of the coastal enclave not to assist the U.S.-and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, saying deadly incidents near its food distribution sites endangered hungry Gazans. "It is strictly forbidden to deal with, work for, or provide any form of assistance or cover to the American organization (GHF) or its local or foreign agents," an interior ministry statement said. "Legal action will be taken against anyone proven to be involved in cooperation with this organization, including the imposition of the maximum penalties stipulated in the applicable national laws," it added, without giving further details. The GHF said in a statement in response that it had delivered million of meals "safely and without interference." "This statement from the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry confirms what we've known all along: Hamas is losing control," the GHF said. The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of deliveries which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral. Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed while seeking handouts of aid. A senior U.N. official said on Sunday that the majority of people killed were trying to reach aid distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Israel's military acknowledged on Monday that Palestinian civilians had been harmed near the distribution centres and that its forces had been issued with new instructions following what it called "lessons learned." Israel has said its forces operate near the centres in order to prevent the aid from falling into the hands of militants, which Hamas denies. More than 170 international humanitarian groups signed a letter this week calling on governments to press Israel to end use of the GHF to deliver aid and return to letting in aid mainly through U.N.-run channels. The GHF has said it has delivered more than 52 million meals to hungry Palestinians in five weeks, while other humanitarian groups had "nearly all of their aid looted."
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Hamas says it is ready to enter ceasefire negotiations in ‘positive spirit'
Hamas said it had responded on Friday in 'a positive spirit' to a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal and was prepared to enter into talks on implementing the deal which envisages a release of hostages and negotiations on ending the conflict. US president Donald Trump earlier announced a 'final proposal' for a 60-day ceasefire in the nearly 21-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, stating he anticipated a reply from the parties in coming hours. On Friday evening Hamas wrote on its official website: 'The movement has delivered its response to the brotherly mediators, which was characterized by a positive spirit. Hamas is fully prepared, with all seriousness, to immediately enter a new round of negotiations on the mechanism for implementing this framework.' Israeli media reported that Israel had received Hamas's response and it was being examined. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One late on Friday, Trump said he was optimistic about the developments and there 'could be a Gaza deal' next week, although the situation could change. Earlier a source told the Guardian that Hamas leaders were close to accepting a proposed deal for a ceasefire in Gaza but want stronger guarantees that any pause in hostilities would lead to a permanent end to the 20-month war. The militant Islamist group has come under immense pressure in recent months, with its military leadership decimated and the Israeli military forcing its fighters out of former strongholds in the southern and central parts of Gaza. In recent days, Israel has ramped up its offensive, launching an intense wave of airstrikes across Gaza, killing more than 250 Palestinians, including many women and children, according to medical and civil defence officials. Hardline factions within Hamas had reluctantly accepted the need for a ceasefire to allow the organisation to regroup and plan a new strategy, one source familiar with the internal debate said. Since a previous ceasefire collapsed in March, more than 6,000 people have been killed in Gaza and an acute humanitarian crisis has worsened. Efforts for a new truce in Gaza gathered momentum after the US secured a ceasefire to end the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran last month. On Tuesday, Trump announced that Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire, during which the parties would work to end the war. When asked on Thursday if Hamas had agreed to the latest ceasefire deal framework, he said: 'We'll see what happens. We are going to know over the next 24 hours.' Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to fly to Washington on Sunday for talks with Trump about the war in Gaza, the recent war between Israel and Iran, and other regional issues. The Israeli prime minister has long resisted a permanent end to the war in Gaza, partly to retain the support of far-right allies in his ruling coalition. But Israel's successes in the war with Iran have strengthened his political position and opinion polls in Israel show strong support for a deal. A senior Israeli official told Channel 12, a major Israeli TV network: 'Judging by the signals from Hamas, there is a high probability that we will start proximity talks in the next few days. If there is consent to proximity talks, there will be a deal.' Other Israeli officials told Reuters preparations were in place to approve the ceasefire deal and that an Israeli delegation was getting ready to join indirect talks brokered by Qatar and Egypt to cement the deal if Hamas responded positively. The proposal includes the release of 10 living Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that triggered the conflict, and the return of the bodies of 18 more, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, an official familiar with the negotiations said on Thursday. Hamas seized 251 hostages during the 2023 attack. Less than half of the 50 who remain in Gaza are believed to be alive. Aid would enter Gaza immediately under the agreement, and the Israeli military would carry out a phased withdrawal from parts of the territory, according to the proposal. Negotiations would immediately start on a permanent ceasefire. 'We sure hope it's a done deal, but I think it's all going to be what Hamas is willing to accept,' Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, told Channel 12 on Thursday. 'One thing is clear: the president wants it to be over. The prime minister wants it to be over. The American people, the Israeli people, want it to be over.' Sign up to First Thing Our US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The delivery of more aid to Gaza has been a principal demand of Hamas throughout negotiations. Israel imposed an 11-week blockade in March, which was only slightly eased in May under huge international pressure as famine loomed. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a secretive private organisation backed by the US and Israel that was charged with delivering food in Gaza, has been dogged by controversy. Hundreds have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid at the GHF's hubs and after gathering in crowds at locations where convoys sent by the UN have been stopped. On Friday, a report by the BBC quoted a former GHF employee describing colleagues firing towards Palestinians who had posed no threat, with many appearing to have been seriously hurt on several occasions. The GHF employee told the BBC he and others had been given no clear rules of engagement or standard operating procedures, and were told by one team leader: 'If you feel threatened, shoot – shoot to kill and ask questions later.' The GHF said the allegations, which were also made by former employees quoted by the Associated Press on Thursday, were categorically false and that no civilians had came under fire at their distribution sites. The Israeli military has denied any intent to harm civilians seeking aid, saying it only fired warning shots. Speaking to journalists while on his way to a rally in Iowa on Thursday, Trump said: 'I want the people of Gaza to be safe. That's more important than anything else. They've gone through hell.' Netanyahu visited Israel's Nir Oz kibbutz on Thursday for the first time since the 2023 Hamas attack. The community was one of the worst-hit in the attack, with nearly one in four residents kidnapped or killed. He said: 'I feel a deep commitment – first of all to ensure the return of all of our hostages, all of them. There are still 20 who are alive and there are also those who are deceased, and we will bring them all back.' The prime minister has been heavily criticised for refusing to take responsibility for the failures that allowed the 2023 attack, during which Hamas-led militants killed 1,200, mostly civilians, and has been repeatedly accused of prioritising his political survival over the fate of the hostages. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 57,000 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to a count by the territory's ministry of health that is considered reliable by the UN and many western governments. The Israeli military said it 'follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm' when striking 'terrorist targets'.
ITV News
7 hours ago
- ITV News
Hamas says it has given 'positive' response to Gaza ceasefire proposal
Hamas has said it has given a "positive" response to the latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza – which one official said could start as early as next week. It is not clear if the militant group's statement late on Friday means it has accepted a proposal from US President Donald Trump for a 60-day ceasefire. Hamas said it would be holding discussions with leaders and other Palestinian groups about ceasefire proposals, which will be presented to Egyptian and Qatari mediators. The group said it would give its final response once talks have ended. Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, during which the US would "work with all parties to end the war.' He urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. In a statement late on Friday, Hamas said it 'has submitted its positive response' to Egyptian and Qatari said it is 'fully prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations regarding the mechanism for implementing this framework.' It did not elaborate on what needed to be worked out in implementation. A Hamas official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to discuss the response with the press, said the ceasefire could start as early as next week. However, he said talks were needed first to work out how many Palestinian prisoners would be released in return for each freed Israeli hostage and to specify the amount of aid that will enter Gaza during the truce. Hamas has said it wants aid to flow in greater quantities through the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies. The official also said that negotiations would start from the first day of the truce on a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in return for the release of remaining hostages. He said that Trump has guaranteed that the truce will be extended beyond 60 days if needed for those negotiations to reach a deal. There has been no confirmation from the United States of such a guarantee. Previous rounds of negotiations have run aground over Hamas demands of guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war's end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the destruction of the militant group.'We'll see what happens. We're going to know over the next 24 hours,' Trump told reporters on Air Force One late Thursday when asked if Hamas had agreed to the latest framework for a ceasefire. Hamas's statement came as Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza early on Friday, while a hospital said another 20 people died in shootings while seeking UN human rights office said it has recorded 613 Palestinians killed within the span of a month in Gaza while trying to obtain aid. Most were killed while trying to reach food distribution points run by Israeli-backed American organisation the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), while others waited for aid trucks connected to the United Nations or other humanitarian groups, it said. Since GHF began distributions in late May, witnesses have said almost daily that Israeli troops open fire toward crowds of Palestinians on the roads leading to the food centres. To reach the sites, people must walk several miles through an Israeli military zone where troops control the Israeli military has said previously it fires warning shots to control crowds or at Palestinians who approach its troops. The GHF has denied any serious injuries or deaths on its sites and says shootings outside their immediate vicinity are under the purview of Israel's Friday, in reaction to the UN rights agency's report, it said in a statement that it was investigating reports of people killed and wounded while seeking aid. It said it was working at 'minimising possible friction between the population' and Israeli forces, including by installing fences and placing signs on the witnesses have said Israeli troops open fire toward crowds of Palestinians who gather in military-controlled zones to wait for aid trucks entering Gaza for the UN or other aid organizations not associated with Friday, 17 people were killed waiting for trucks in eastern Khan Younis in the Tahliya area, officials at Nasser Hospital survivors told the Associated Press they had gone to wait for the trucks in a military 'red zone' in Khan Younis and that troops opened fire from a tank and drones. It was a 'crowd of people, may God help them, who want to eat and live,' said Seddiq Abu Farhana, who was shot in the leg, forcing him to drop a bag of flour he had grabbed. 'There was direct firing.' UN human rights office spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, said the agency was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings. But she said 'it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points' operated by Shamdasani said that of the total tallied, 509 killings were 'GHF-related,' meaning at or near its distribution a statement on Friday, the GHF cast doubt on the casualty figures, accusing the UN of taking its casualty figures 'directly from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry' and of trying 'to falsely smear our effort.'Ms Shamdasani said that the data "is based on our own information gathering through various reliable sources, including medical, human rights and humanitarian organisations". World Health Organisation representative Rik Peeperkorn said Nasser Hospital, the biggest hospital operating in the south of Gaza, receives dozens or hundreds of casualties every day, most coming from the vicinity of the food distribution sites. The International Committee of the Red Cross also said in late June that its field hospital near one of the GHF sites has been overwhelmed more than 20 times in the previous months by mass casualties, most suffering gunshot injuries while on their way to the food distribution Health Ministry in Gaza said the number of Palestinians killed in the territory has passed 57,000. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is run by medical professionals employed by the Hamas government, and its numbers are widely cited by the UN and international organisations.
